


Following Orders

by ami_ven



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Community: mcsheplets, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-23
Updated: 2013-11-23
Packaged: 2018-01-02 10:20:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1055627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ami_ven/pseuds/ami_ven
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Only one of them had to stay behind, but that didn't mean only one of them was going to.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Following Orders

**Author's Note:**

> Written for McSheplet prompt #163 "order". Originally posted to my LiveJournal.

**Following Orders**

The Ancient satellite was going up in flames around them, crashing head-long into the planet below, and one of them was going to have to stay behind as it went down.

Rodney had tried every trick he knew, then invented a few new ones, but the vital systems were just too far gone to be repaired, even if they’d had hours to do it. But if they just let the satellite fall into the planet’s atmosphere, it was likely to veer off course and hit a populated area. There was just enough propulsion control for someone to manually keep its trajectory over the ocean and just enough life-support for that person to still be alive when it hit.

And John clearly believed that he was going to be that person.

“There’s still time to eject the escape pod,” he said. “The _Hammond_ is due to reach Atlantis tomorrow, so you won’t have to be out there long. Just help me rig the self-destruct so we can make absolutely sure—”

“No,” Rodney interrupted.

“McKay, this thing’s got to have a self-destruct, and there’s not a lot of time.”

“I mean, I’m not going,” said Rodney. “I’m not taking the escape pod.”

“Rodney, only one person needs to stay,” said John. “Which means one person can take the escape pod. That’s you and that’s an order.”

“And I said ‘no’,” Rodney snapped. “This is one time too many, Sheppard, and I won’t do it.”

“Rodney…”

“Do you have any idea what it feels like, Sheppard? To watch you die and know that I’m the one that killed you?”

John frowned. “It was my orders—”

“It’s always _your_ orders,” said Rodney. “But it’s _my_ hands, programming the self-destruct, or venting all the atmosphere, or building a nuclear bomb—”

The colonel’s expression softened. “Rodney…”

“You don’t even think about it, do you? You’re just so stupidly heroic that you run off to die without even caring who you’ll be leaving behind.”

“Rodney,” said John again, slowly. “I’m just not used to… I’ve never had anybody to leave behind, before. But that doesn’t change anything! It just makes it _worse_ , can’t you understand that? What would be the point in dying if you weren’t still—”

“I’m not leaving,” the scientist repeated, firmly. “I’m not going to watch you die again, John.”

Rodney’s voice broke on John’s name and he could feel the tears prickling at the corners of his eyes, but he didn’t care. John stared at him, his own eyes suspiciously bright, unidentifiable emotions warring on his face, until somewhere above them, an alarm began blaring.

“We’re still crashing,” John said, voice tight. “Someone needs to…”

“We’ll have more control with the two of us,” said Rodney. He took a step closer, close enough to feel John’s body heat, close enough to smell his aftershave, and lowered his voice. “I’m not leaving.”

Another alarm joined the first, and John looked away. “Give me as much propulsion as you can, McKay,” he said, crossing to the navigation panel.

Rodney moved to a different console, and started transferring power to the satellite’s engines. “We’re a hundred thousand meters from the planet’s surface,” he said.

“What’s that in American?” John asked. He was shouting to be heard over the continuing alarms and the growing roar of friction as their hull overheated.

“Eighty thousand meters.”

The satellite rocked with some kind of turbulence, but John kept them steady. Rodney watched him for a moment, thinking with a small part of his brain that if they were about to die, watching John Sheppard fly something was a pretty good final image.

“Thirty thousand meters.”

Something new popped up on his display, an updated scan of the surface. “Sheppard! John, we’re low enough. We’re completely over the ocean, headed away from the landmass, so there’s no way we’ll hit—”

Rodney broke off abruptly as something hit _him_ , soft and warm and kissing him, like their lives depended on it.

“John,” he gasped, when he was released, only just far enough to breathe again. 

“I’m not sorry,” said John, equally breathless. “My timing sucks, but I’m not sorry.”

“Oh, good,” said Rodney, and pulled him in for another kiss.

John wrapped both arms around Rodney’s waist, until there was no space between them, and Rodney held on just as tightly. Rodney blocked out the still-blaring alarms, the increasing heat and sparking controls, focusing on the kiss. He was so focused that it took him a moment to recognize the flare of an Asgard transport beam and the still silence of an F-304 bridge.

Surprised, Rodney tried to take a step back— Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell might have been repealed, but old prejudices died hard— but John didn’t let him go.

“Colonel,” John said, evenly.

Caldwell arched an eyebrow. “Colonel, doctor. It seems that it’s becoming a habit for us to save your asses.”

“Not a bad habit, I hope,” said John, lacing his fingers through Rodney’s. “Sir.”

“Just as long as it doesn’t happen that often,” said Caldwell. “Report to sickbay, both of you.”

John saluted, lazily, and pulled Rodney out into corridor.

“Did we just come out to the entire bridge crew of the _Daedalus_?” Rodney asked.

“Yeah, I guess we did,” said John. He seemed to realized that he was still holding Rodney’s hand, and let go abruptly. “I mean, _I_ did. If you don’t want—”

Rodney cut him off with a kiss, pressing John back until he thumped into the bulkhead with what sounded suspiciously like a whimper. “It’s a good thing you’re pretty,” said Rodney. “Because you’re not very quick on the uptake, sometimes.”

“I’ll show you quick,” John growled. “You, me, my quarters, as soon as we’re back on Atlantis.”

Rodney grinned. “Is that an order?”

John kissed him again. “Yes.”

“You know how good I am at following orders,” Rodney scoffed. 

“Oh, I don’t know,” said John. “But you’re a really fast learner.”

Rodney grinned again. “Yes, I am.”


End file.
